Bear River holds off Oakmont in a thriller. Coach Baggett wins one for sidelined head coach

The Bruins are back.

Bear River High School on Friday night in Lake of the Pines defeated Oakmont of Roseville, 24-21, in a thrilling Pioneer Valley League matchup.

The Bruins were coming off a crushing 27-7 loss at Wheatland and vowed to learn from it and respond. They did. When the upstart Vikings, coming in at 3-1 after going winless in 10 games in 2023, missed a 24-yard field goal to tie under two minutes to go, the Bruins felt comfortable to just run the clock down.

But a fumble on the ensuing drive gave the Vikings one more opportunity. Senior defensive end Luke Jeffers ended that hope, sacking Oakmont’s quarterback twice to seal it, and Bear River improved to 4-1. The Bruins prevailed without their coach, Tanner Mathias, who did not coach Friday in serving a one-game sit out for disciplinary reasons. Mathias will return next week, he said in a text to The Bee.

Acting head coach Jeff Baggett said Bear River’s resolve is the DNA of the program.

“These guys are fighters,” Baggett said. “As a team we played great football. Some mistakes here and there, but offensively, defensively and special teams, this was a great performance.”

Baggett said this group just does not give up easily.

“Yeah, that fumble would trip up most teams,” Baggett said. “These guys just don’t let it faze them. Mistakes happen. This group has the maturity to just move on and make some even bigger plays.”

Jeffers agreed.

“When it’s tight, we’re not just going to give up,” Jeffers said. “We don’t give up. Even when someone messes up, we’re brothers. We stick together and move on.”

The back-and-forth game often ends up in favor of who made fewer mistakes.

“They took some plays from us, but then we went right back at them and took more plays from them,” Jeffers said.

Bear River senior running back Elijah Hickman, who charged in for a touchdown run, credited everyone for the effort.

“Knowing our coach wasn’t going to be here can be really tough, but our team always finds a way to rally together,” Hickman said. “I don’t know that Bear River has ever had a team with as much chemistry as we have. I can look to my right and my left, and I see guys that I know will make the big plays when it counts. That gives me a ton of extra confidence.”

Baggett said the team’s chemistry was a big reason why they were able to bounce back from a loss last week.

“I couldn’t be more happier for these guys,” Baggett said. “They just want to win for their school. They want to play hard for Bear River. They made great plays when it mattered and a big reason for that is because they all play for each other. We are all accountable for every mistake, but that’s what gets us to win big games like this.”

Baggett returned as an assistant coach this season after retiring from football coaching six years ago. He had spent 18 years on the coaching staff. Baggett is a Bear River alumnus, graduating in 1989. He savored a win at his old school, and Mathias tuned in on local radio, anxious with every play and drive.

Bear River is a small school with 650 students, but the Bruins fans make it a big-time scene for home games, loud and proud. The theme Friday was men of honor as the school acknowledged veterans and fathers. The games are a throwback, on grass with trees lining the stadium, and the contests are aired on local radio by Tim Fitzsimmons and Emil Raldoni. Fitzsimmons has been broadcasting Bruins games for 30 years.

In addition to Hickman’s 2-yard touchdown run, sophomore quarterback Jayden Brock had a 7-yard touchdown run, senior back Lincoln Williams had 16-yard score, and senior kicker Luke Wall hit a 23-yard field goal and was perfect on point-after attempts.

The Vikings three touchdowns came from senior rushers Quin Duran and Kendall Barber. Senior quarterback Beau Ogles rushed for a 78-yard touchdown off a fake.

Bear River next plays Lincoln. Oakmont plays Center.